For those of you that play 9 holes more often than 18 do you find you lose your game towards the end?

[mosnas]

I have a membership on a cheap 9 hole course which I golf every day where I have no problem breaking 40 with the occasional crap round over 45.  I find when I play on a different course over 18 my back 9 goes to hell, even on a brand new course my front nine is always good but come back 9 I usually shoot much higher than the first 9 sometimes by 5-10 strokes. I was wondering if other golfers that exclusively play 9 hole courses have this same problem.

[sstone8]

Absolutely.  Because of time I usually can only fit in 9, sometimes a couple more.  Even when I was playing nearly every day I played only 9 most of the time, and my best score was 82 (shooting +2 on the front, +8 on the back).  Some of that was me thinking I might actually break 80, some was just being used to only concentrating physically and mentally for 9 holes at a time.

[Dave2512]

Could be fatigue or a training issue. I typically play 9, finding time for 18 is my problem. I'm in good physical condition but not in good golf condition. I can feel my swing start to break down and my mental game gets weak in the back 9 when I do play 18. Complicated by the fact that IMO most courses get tougher towards the end, at least the ones I play do. I tend to get in trouble on the back by missing fairways, usually right and not playing smart. Not laying up from a tough lie in favor of going for it and making one bad shot a string of several bad shots.

[divot dave]

I primarily play 9 holes and rarely get the time to do 18. I find that my ability to concentrate and focus on my swing thoughts, as well as properly assess situations is greatly diminished on the back 9. I play much more carelessly than I do the front. Concentration is the big issue for me here.

[zeg]

I don't see a strong effect. I have about as many where the front nine is better than the back as vice versa, though when there is more than a couple strokes' difference, the back tends to be the worse.

This is complicated by the fact that I more often ride when I play 18, whereas I always walk for 9. Interestingly, a couple rounds back I went 49-47 when riding the front and walking the back.

[stevejason]

Yesterday I walked 54holes. Shot 40-40=80, 43-45=88, and 41-42=83 on the final 18. If I get tired, it's usually mental fatigue.

[moparman426]

I typically do better on the back nine, as I am usually warmed up by then.

Edit:

Just wanted to add, that I usually walk 90% of the time, so maybe it's a matter of conditioning.

[Mattplusness]

Originally Posted by stevejason

Yesterday I walked 54holes. Shot 40-40=80, 43-45=88, and 41-42=83 on the final 18. If I get tired, it's usually mental fatigue.

Damn man, I'm bushed after 18. Very respectable.

[Chris Stewart]

I play 9 holes more often than 18. I find that I dramatically improve on the back 9 when I do play 18. I believe that's just a matter of warming up on the front. I wonder sometimes when I play my normal 9 hole course if I played again right after just how much lower I'd go.

[AmazingWhacker]

In a word, yes.

I most often play 9 holes and only rarely can find time to play 18.  My game actually starts going down hill around hole 7, according to most of my scorecards.  When I do play 18, the back 9 is a disaster.  It's definitely mental fatique for me, not phyiscal fatigue.  Well, fatigue and the fact that I constantly think about and adjust my swing while on the course.

[Lost-Ball]

for some reason 18 holes doesnt seem enough for me so i would just fly thru 9 holes lol most the time i ride 18 then either walk 9 or come back later and walk 18. ive walked 27 a few times and thats before i had confortable shoes and knew to where boxer briefs and NOT boxers

[inthehole]

Totally - I usually play 9 after work ... when I play 18 with friends, always struggle the last few holes ...

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by stevejason

Yesterday I walked 54holes. Shot 40-40=80, 43-45=88, and 41-42=83 on the final 18. If I get tired, it's usually mental fatigue.

curious, how old are you ?    I couldn't have done that when I was young and in shape ... thats marathon golf (nicely done !!)

[stevejason]

Originally Posted by inthehole

curious, how old are you ?    I couldn't have done that when I was young and in shape ... thats marathon golf (nicely done !!)

I will be able to draw Social Security in a couple of months .

[Jeffrey71]

Due to financial constraints I can only play one 18 hole round per week. Where I live there are only 2 courses and both are 9 hole. I try to switch between them every week or so as to not get used to one or the other. A friend of mine has a theory that if a course is laid out in a clockwise pattern it is more right handed friendly than a counter clockwise pattern. I don't know about that....Someone in another thread had the suggestion of thinking in terms of 3-6 holes at a time. I'm planning on playing about 36 holes this Friday and giving this mental aspect a try. Back to the original question, I believe we're talking greatly about the mental aspect and how we "memorize" what we do...just my opinion.

[boogielicious]

I usually find the opposite.  I play a 9 hole league and 9 with my wife on the weekends.  When I play 18, the back nine is generally better because I have tweaked my tee shots to get in the fairway better.  The last hole, my knee can be an issue but I am more relaxed at that point.